Although it feels like a lifetime ago, it was just back in February that Hildur Guðnadóttir won the 2020 Academy Award for Best Original Score. Her work on Joker was brilliant and the Oscar was the cherry on top of a very successful awards season for the Icelandic composer. While the attention and acclaim was truly deserved, Guðnadóttir’s winning streak began to bring up a rather unsettling array of facts. She was the first woman to ever win a Golden Globe for Best Original Score. She was the first woman in nearly 20 years to win a Critics’ Choice Award for Best Score. And she was only the fourth woman to ever win an Oscar for Best Original Score in its more than 90 years of existence.
While these facts all revolve around the awards circuit, they are indicative of a larger problem plaguing the film industry. Despite more women actively working in the field than ever before, it’s still very much dominated by men. It seems like a ridiculous conversation that needs to be had in this modern day and age, but the numbers speak for themselves. Women composers are fighting huge discrepancies in opportunity, top industry support, and even professional respect when compared to their male counterparts.
According to the long-running Celluloid Ceiling Annual Report, 2019 marked all-time highs for women working behind the scenes on the top 250 grossing films. Out of the top 500 films, 23% of all writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, and editors were women. However, when it comes to composers, only 7% of the top 500 grossing films in 2019 had a female composer. If you’re doing the math right now, that leaves a staggering 93% of films being scored by men.
While the numbers are one thing, the motivating factors behind them are a bit less obvious. Emmy-nominated composer Cindy O’Connor holds an incredible list of credits in theater, film and television (including ABC’s Once Upon a Time) — and she knows the struggle all too well.
“These days it’s usually not blatant discrimination, but a more subtle bias about what a composer usually looks like,” O’Connor says. “I’ve heard filmmakers wonder aloud if a woman could write bad-ass action music, but I’ve never heard anyone express doubts about a man scoring a tender emotional scene. Ridiculous, right? We all have access to the full spectrum of emotions, so there’s no reason composers should have trouble expressing a certain emotional range because of their masculinity or femininity.”
The sexism behind this bias is not exclusive to the world of women composers and the murky, intangible nature of it makes this way of thinking hard to prove. However, the facts once again seem to back up this idea. In the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, they found that between 2007-2018, only 19 out of the top 1327 grossing films were scored by women. That translates to 68.8 males to every one female hired as a composer. Even though it’s easy to hypothesize and theorize about the logic behind the statistics, one possibility may reside in the basic human tendency toward the familiar.
Up-and-coming composer Adele Etheridge Woodson has also felt the sting of exclusion in the industry. The classically trained violinist, who has quickly made waves with her film scores, visual medium scores and her collaborations with fellow composers like Dr. Daniel Bernard Roumain, said, “I’ve noticed that large studios cycle through the same four or five composers. No disrespect to them, they are not at the top by accident. But by cycling through the same people, the studios are not taking chances on emerging or lesser-known composers. Those Hollywood composers become the face for film scoring. And pretty much all of them are men. When those few become the face, those left behind remain unseen, invisible.”
The multi-talented composer Carla Patullo has more than 100 song placements in popular TV shows, a wealth of solo albums under the name White Widow, and multiple film scores including Fangoria’s latest film, Porno. She also feels the industry has the cards stacked against women, with the systemic inequality coming straight from the top.
“I think up top is still mostly dominated by male executives,” Patullo says. “And while I do think there are many men who advocate for more women, non-binary, and minority composers, I think the biggest problem is that they feel the need to play it safe and go with the tried and true over and over again. I would love to see more studios taking bigger risks and hiring the unexpected choices across the board. It would make everything much more exciting both within the industry and for audiences.”
The trickle-down effect in regards to hiring practices is a powerful force and has repercussions on multiple levels. For example, the Celluloid Ceiling Report found that “on films with at least one female director, women comprised 16% of composers. On films with exclusively male directors, women accounted for 6% of composers.” However, much like composers, women directors continue to fight their own unique battle.
Further down the ladder in terms of scope comes the internal issue of prominent composers and their teams. Especially in the realm of large studio productions, it takes a team of talented individuals to create a film’s sonic soundscape. Arrangers, assistants and fellow composers all become critically important in a large score’s execution and delivery. Here enters the issue of internal industry support. It’s a two-sided coin with one side offering opportunity for many up-and-coming composers, and the other an uphill battle. On the one side, there are positive experiences like Patullo’s. “I was very fortunate to have studied film composition with Laura Karpman, who has been a strong voice and advocate for women composers,” she said. “She was the first teacher who taught me about film scoring and gave me my baseline and first film job!”
However, the flip side offers an experience rooted in customary procedure. While tried and true, the outdated Hollywood mode of thinking inevitably limits and excludes many talented creatives working hard behind the scenes. O’Connor explains, “Where it becomes about gender is this: because the big name composers are all men, the majority of their assistants are men, partially because people usually hire people with whom they feel comfortable and/or people who are like them. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s a human tendency, but it has largely kept women out of the club. But all of that is slowly changing, and now there are many women working as assistants and additional composers”
Another way to shake up the system is to give more credit and acknowledgement to additional composers and team members on studio projects, rather than keeping up the illusion that five or six guys are scoring hundreds of films and TV episodes every year. There are dozens of talented composers, male and female, doing top quality work, but since no one knows their names they find it hard to rise to the next level. Let’s credit the whole team. It doesn’t dim the spotlight on lead composers to acknowledge that they are fostering new talent. No one thinks any less of Hans Zimmer for discovering Harry Gregson-Williams, Steve Jablonsky, Ramin Djawadi, and countless others.”
Leading by example is an unquestionably powerful force and it is one many filmmakers, composers and studios are beginning to take very seriously. More than ever, studios are opening their doors and minds to diverse and talented individuals. Though slow, this change is important and influential. As an example, Etheridge Woodson offers up director Jordan Peele:
“Some directors have used their power to elevate unheard voices, like Jordan Peele working with Michael Abels, an African-American composer who had never been hired on a huge studio picture before. I believe directors and producers should follow Peele’s lead; have a quota for how many women and minority composers they will interview, give people a chance to get in the room. When one studio begins to make those strides, I am sure the rest will follow.”
Alongside issues of industry support and opportunity lies the darker, more troubling issue of personal and professional respect. Not only are many women composers fighting outdated ways of thinking and business protocol, but many find themselves confronted with sexual harassment and blatant sexism. Thanks to the bravery of so many women, these issues within the industry (and society as a whole) are now being addressed in unprecedented ways. Despite this fact, there is still a lot of work to be done both inside the industry and out.
Anne-Kathrin Dern, a talented and multi-faceted composer, has worked on large studio productions including Ocean’s 8 and Geostorm. She’s also worked on small indie films, television and has recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios. She’s had internships with some of the best in the biz and has helped develop a wealth of virtual instruments and digital samples for various companies. She sits on the board of directors for the Alliance for Women Film Composers. And she has experienced incredibly unprofessional and unsettling behavior within the industry.
“I was unfortunately sexually harassed and had to leave my job after reporting my boss who was also my visa sponsor at the time,” Dern explains. “Likewise, my former colleagues filed a harassment complaint and were all fired a week later. The two harassers are still at that company and one of them — right after these incidents — offered an acquaintance of mine a job in exchange for dating. There have also been instances with myself and my colleagues during which we thought we were attending a business dinner which then in fact turned out to be a romantic dinner.”
“It’s very difficult for women in vulnerable situations because there are plenty of men who will take advantage of that,” Dern continues. “One of my colleagues wasn’t hired because she was pregnant, another was fired during maternity leave. The range of inappropriate or even illegal behavior is still staggering, especially since most of these music studios are too small to have an HR department and you find yourself alone with other people in isolated rooms all the time. It is still unfortunately women who are being attacked when they come forward about these things and the men who do this rarely have to suffer any consequences — they either remain in positions of power or get a slap on the wrist and are put into a leadership position again.”
As if these issues aren’t enough, many women (in and out of the composing world) also face the issue of pay disparity. Despite many women holding comparable credits, skills, and experience, the underlying, outdated bias toward men in technical fields still skews in their favor. Similar to the way many women composers fight unsubstantiated biases in regards to emotional tone execution, they also fight bias toward their technical skill and understanding. Mirroring women in industries like science, tech, medicine, and mainstream music, this incredibly outdated and sexist thinking still rears its ugly head.
“It’s a perception issue, be it conscious or subconscious,” Dern says. “I remember being paid only half of what my colleagues were making in the same position with the same amount of experience. Another female colleague of mine was called crazy for demanding the same pay as her predecessor, even though she had moved into his previous position, with the same responsibilities and experience. And when we do get a raise or promotion, you can be sure we had to prove ourselves twice as much as our male counterparts because our capability is constantly questioned.”
With this wealth of complicated, unsettling, and deeply embedded issues, there is absolutely no question that change in a multitude of areas is needed. Luckily, there is not only hope, but feet on the ground instigating, implementing, and demanding change. For one, groups like USC Annenberg, Women in Film, and Women and Hollywood not only produce extensive industry reports, they also provide consultation, support, and simple actions (like adding an inclusion rider) that can be applied both in front of the camera and behind it.
For women composers specifically, The Alliance for Women Film Composers offers steadfast support, advocacy, networking, and industry resources to signal boost the immense amount of talent within its ranks as much as possible. Founded by prolific composers like Laura Karpman, Miriam Cutler, and Lolita Ritmanis, the mission of the organization has always been personal and passionately motivated. Support at the professional level is not simply a good idea, it’s crucially important.
Dern explains, “It is important we have these safe spaces for women to talk honestly about problems in our profession without anyone questioning their validity. Too often, when trying to discuss these things in a more public setting, we are kept busy trying to prove that there even is a problem at all instead of tackling the issues at hand. We also need safe spaces to call out inappropriate behavior by our male peers and warn each other to create a safer work environment for everyone.”
Although there are issues, the future is certainly bright for women film composers. It’s an industry fueled by passion and creativity, regardless of gender. It’s an industry strengthened by collaboration and an irreplaceable key piece of the filmmaking puzzle. There is a palpable energy surrounding it and an unquestionable sea change in progress. For every Guðnadóttir, there are hundreds of women composers standing behind her; capable, talented, and cheering her on. And there is always room for more. Perhaps Guðnadóttir herself said it best in her historic Oscar acceptance speech, “To the girls, to the women, to the mothers, to the daughters who hear the music bubbling within, please speak up — we need to hear your voices.”
Special thanks to Carla Patullo, Anne-Kathrin Dern, Cindy O’Connor, and Adele Etheridge Woodson. Their contributions were an invaluable part of making this piece happen.
